Mask product made by selection of evaluation point locations based on proximity effects model amplitudes for correcting proximity effects in a fabricat layout

ABSTRACT

Techniques provided for fabricating a device include forming a fabrication layout, such as a mask layout, for a physical design layer, such as a design for an integrated circuit, and identifying evaluation points on an edge of a polygon corresponding to the design layer for correcting proximity effects. Included are techniques that correct for proximity effects associated with an edge in a layout corresponding to the design layer.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a continuation of commonly owned co-pendingU.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/676,356, “Selection Of EvaluationPoint Locations Based On Proximity Effects Model Amplitudes ForCorrecting Proximity Effects In A Fabrication Layout” filed Sep. 29,2000 by Christophe Pierrat and Youping Zhang.

This application is related to U.S. patent application Ser. No.09/675,582, entitled “Dissection Of Corners In A Fabrication Layout ForCorrecting Proximity Effects,” filed on Sep. 29, 2000, invented byChristophe Pierrat and Youping Zhang.

This application is related to U.S. patent application Ser. No.09/675,197, entitled “Dissection Of Edges With Projection Points In AFabrication Layout For Correcting Proximity Effects,” filed on Sep. 29,2000, invented by Christophe Pierrat and Youping Zhang.

This application is related to U.S. patent application Ser. No.09/676,375, entitled “Dissection Of Printed Edges From A FabricationLayout For Correcting Proximity Effects,” filed on Sep. 29, 2000,invented by Christophe Pierrat and Youping Zhang.

This application is related to U.S. patent application Ser. No.09/728,885, entitled “Displacing Edge Segments On A Fabrication LayoutBased on Proximity Effects Model Amplitudes For Correcting ProximityEffects,” filed on Dec. 1, 2000, invented by Christophe Pierrat andYouping Zhang.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. The Field of the Invention

This invention relates to the field of printed feature manufacturing,such as integrated circuit manufacturing. In particular, this inventionrelates to automatically identifying evaluation points where errors arecomputed and analyzed to achieve improved agreement between a designlayout and an actual printed feature.

2. Description of Related Art

To fabricate an integrated circuit (IC), engineers first use a logicalelectronic design automation (EDA) tool, also called a functional EDAtool, to create a schematic design, such as a schematic circuit designconsisting of symbols representing individual devices coupled togetherto perform a certain function or set of functions. Such tools areavailable from CADENCE DESIGN SYSTEMS and from SYNOPSYS. The schematicdesign must be translated into a representation of the actual physicalarrangement of materials upon completion, called a design layout. Thedesign layout uses a physical EDA tool, such as those available fromCADENCE and AVANT!. If materials must be arranged in multiple layers, asis typical for an IC, the design layout includes several design layers.

After the arrangement of materials by layer is designed, a fabricationprocess is used to actually form material on each layer. That processincludes a photo-lithographic process using a mask having opaque andtransparent regions that causes light to fall on photosensitive materialin a desired pattern. After light is shined through the mask onto thephotosensitive material, the light-sensitive material is subjected to adeveloping process to remove those portions exposed to light (or,alternatively, remove those portions not exposed to light). Etching,deposition, diffusion, or some other material altering process is thenperformed on the patterned layer until a particular material is formedwith the desired pattern in the particular layer. The result of theprocess is some arrangement of material in each of one or more layers,here called printed features layers.

Because of the characteristics of light in photolithographic equipment,and because of the properties of the material altering processesemployed, the pattern of transparent and opaque areas on the mask is notthe same as the pattern of materials on the printed layer. A mask designprocess is used, therefore, after the physical EDA process and beforethe fabrication process, to generate one or more mask layouts thatdiffer from the design layers. When formed into one or more masks andused in a set of photolithographic processes and material alteringprocesses, these mask layouts produce a printed features layer as closeas possible to the design layer.

The particular size of a feature that a design calls for is thefeature's critical dimension. The resolution for the fabrication processcorresponds to the minimum sized feature that the photolithographicprocess and the material processes can repeatably form on a substrate,such as a silicon wafer. As the critical dimensions of the features onthe design layers become smaller and approach the resolution of thefabrication process, the consistency between the mask and the printedfeatures layer is significantly reduced. Specifically, it is observedthat differences in the pattern of printed features from the mask dependupon the size and shape of the features on the mask and the proximity ofthe features to one another on the mask. Such differences are calledproximity effects.

Some causes of proximity effects are optical proximity effects, such asdiffraction of light through the apertures of the optical systems andthe patterns of circuits that resemble optical gratings. Opticalproximity effects also include underexposure of concave corners (insidecorners with interior angles greater than 180 degrees) and overexposureof convex corners (outside corners with interior angles less than 180degrees), where the polygon represents opaque regions, and differentexposures of small features compared to large features projected fromthe same mask. Other causes of proximity effects are non-opticalproximity effects, such as sensitivity of feature size and shape toangle of attack from etching plasmas or deposition by sputtering duringthe material altering processes, which cause features to have shapes andsizes that have decayed from or accumulated onto their designed shapesand sizes.

In attempts to compensate for proximity effects, the mask layouts can bemodified. To illustrate, FIG. 1A shows mask items 170, such as windowsor opaque areas on a mask, represented by edges 171 on one or morepolygons, and some printed features 180 with exaggerated proximityeffects. FIG. 1A does not represent an actual example, but is providedsimply to illustrate the concepts of proximity effects and maskmodifications to attempt to correct for proximity effects. To makeapparent the illustrated proximity effects, the projection of theoriginal polygons 171 is shown as a fine line around the printedfeatures 180. Note that the printed features 180 includes a spuriousconnection feature 182, an edge 185 entirely displaced inside thecorresponding edge of the original outline 171, and an end line 183completely inside the outline of the original items 171.

FIG. 1B illustrates various ways mask items 190 are modified to correctfor such effects. FIG. 1B is not a particular example of a particularset of corrections that actually mitigate the proximity effectsillustrated in FIG. 1A. The corrections available include hammerheads192 (i.e. hammerheads 192 a and 192 b) added to ends of items tocompensate for overexposure of the entire end line of a feature. Alsoshown are biases 196 (i.e. biases 196 a and 196 b) applied alongportions of a straight edge of a feature. A negative bias like 196represents a portion of an opaque area made transparent (or a portion ofa window made opaque). In this case the negative bias reduces the sizeof the item on a mask to avoid generating the spurious feature 182 ofFIG. 1A. Also shown are assist features 194 (i.e. assist features 194 aand 194 b), which are separate items smaller than the resolution of thephotolithographic process and thus too small to be formed in aphotoresist layer, but which are sufficiently large to effectdiffraction patterns that influence larger nearby features. The assistfeatures 194 are intended to move the edge 185 of the printed features180 in FIG. 1A toward the outline 171 of the original mask items 170.Also shown is a sub-resolution serif 193 of extra opaque material tocompensate for overexposure at convex corners of opaque areas, and ananti-serif 197 indicating where opaque material, if any, is removed tocompensate for underexposure at concave corners of opaque polygons.These corrections are listed to illustrate the concepts of correcting amask to compensate for proximity effects. The illustrated corrections donot necessarily correct the depicted features.

In rule-based proximity corrections, corrections such as the serifs andbiases of a predetermined size are automatically placed at corners andedges of fabrication layout shapes like the mask shapes 170. Other rulesmay include adding assist shapes to a mask near desired features fromthe design layout and adding hammerheads to short end lines of thedesired features. Experience of engineers accumulated through trial anderror can be expressed as rules, and applied during the fabricationdesign process. For example, a rule may be expressed as follows: if afeature is isolated, then widen the opaque region in the mask by aparticular amount to compensate for expected overexposure, so that thefeature prints properly.

The experience captured in rule-based corrections is garnered by goingthrough the fabrication process repeatedly with different mask layouts,making adjustments and observing the results. However, this processconsumes time and manufacturing capacity. Even if such experimental,rule-forming runs are made, the resulting rules often do not givesatisfactory results as the features become more complicated, or becomesmaller, or interact in more confined areas, or involve any combinationof these effects.

Because rule based corrections are often imprecise and time consuming torevise and test, a proximity effects model is often developed and usedto predict the effects of a change in the mask layout with moreprecision and with fewer off line fabrication runs.

A proximity effects model is typically built for a particular suite ofequipment and equipment settings assembled to perform the fabricationprocess. The model is often built by performing the fabrication processone or a few times with test patterns on one or more mask layouts,observing the actual features printed (for example with a scanningelectron micrograph), and fitting a set of equations or matrixtransformations that most nearly reproduce the locations of edges offeatures actually printed as output when the test pattern is provided asinput. The output of the proximity effects model is often expressed asan optical intensity. Other proximity effects models provide acalibrated output that includes a variable threshold as well as anoptical intensity. Some proximity effects models provide a calibratedoutput which indicates a printed edge location relative to a particularoptical intensity as a spatial deviation. Thus some model outputs cantake on values that vary practically continuously between some minimumvalue and some maximum value.

Once a proximity effects model is produced, it can be used in thefabrication design process. For example, the proximity effects model isrun with a proposed mask layout to produce a predicted printed featureslayer. The predicted printed features layer is compared to the designlayer and the differences are analyzed. Based on the differences,modifications to the proposed mask layout are made, such as by adding orremoving serifs 193, or adding or removing anti-serifs 197. After makingthese corrections to the proposed mask layout, a final mask layout isgenerated that is used in the fabrication process.

A proximity effects model typically produces predictions that lead tocorrections that are more accurate than rule based corrections. However,a proximity effects model consumes computational resources by an amountthat is related to the number of points of interest where amplitudes arecomputed. For typical mask layouts, the number of points where the modelcould be run is large, and the computation time is prohibitive.Therefore it is typical to run the proximity effects model at selectedevaluation points located on the edges of features, to determine thecorrection needed, if any, at each evaluation point, and then to applythat correction to all the points on a segment of the edge in thevicinity of the evaluation point.

If too many evaluation points are selected, the model runs too slowlyand the correction procedure takes too long. If too few evaluationpoints are selected, the model may not detect critical locations wherecorrections are necessary. Another undesirable effect of too fewevaluation points is that segments can become too large, so that even ifa correction is accurate for the evaluation point, the correction isapplied to too much of the edge. This causes undesirable changes on theedge away from the evaluation point.

What are needed are new ways to select evaluation points and definetheir vicinity for the mask layouts, so that a reasonable number ofcomparisons can be made and so that effective modifications to the masklayouts can be suggested.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to techniques of the present invention, edges of polygons in amask layout are dissected into segments defined by dissection points,with each segment having an evaluation point, according to modifieddissection rules. These techniques allow the spacing of evaluationpoints and dissection points to be automatically adapted to portions ofeach edge where changes in the proposed mask layout are most likelyneeded. According to these techniques, dissection points are closertogether where proximity effects are more significant and are fartherapart where proximity effects are less significant. Thus unnecessaryevaluation points are eliminated and the analysis process is speeded up,while still retaining needed evaluation points.

In one aspect of these techniques, all dissection points can be derivedfrom just a few easily defined parameters. The first parameter is acorner dissection segment length, Lcor, used as a target length tocompute dissection points for corner segments that include at least onevertex of the polygon when the length of the edge allows. The secondparameter is a detail dissection segment length, Ldet, used as a targetlength to derive dissection points for segments along portions of anedge where changes in proximity effects are expected to be significant,such as adjacent to corner segments and around projection points whenthe length of the edge allows. A projection point is a location on anedge where a vertex of another edge comes close enough to introducesharp changes in the proximity effects. A halo distance is a parameterthat determines whether a vertex is close enough to introduce animportant effect. A maximum dissection segment length, Lmax, bydefinition larger than either Lcor or Ldet, is used as a target lengthto further dissect long portions of the edge that would otherwise not bedissected, such as away from corners and projections points. Extraprecision is achieved if a true-gate extension length parameter Lext isused on edges of shifters forming true-gates. The dissection parametersLcor, Ldet, Lmax, halo and Lext are pre-set and accessed as needed.

In one aspect of the disclosed techniques, a profile of amplitudes froma proximity effects model along an edge of a feature in a design layoutis used to dissect the edge. This amplitude profile reflects the levelof proximity effects for the given layout and fabrication process. Byusing this information, a better dissection of the edge is achieved inwhich the segment length between successive dissection points depends onthe magnitude of the proximity effects. For example, on a portion of anedge where the magnitude of the proximity effects is larger than anotherportion, the segment length is made longer. This kind of dissectionavoids making the segment length too short. A segment that is too short,for example in a corner, may result in a very large correction, and mayprevent the overall corrections for the layout from converging.

In another aspect, the dissection parameters are derived from thesegment lengths based on profiles of amplitudes. According to themodified dissection rules, each evaluation point is placed along asegment at a predetermined fraction of the distance from one dissectionpoint to the other defining each segment, where the predeterminedfraction depends on the type of segment. For example, an evaluationpoint is placed closer to the non-vertex dissection point in a cornersegment; and is placed midway between dissection points in other typesof segments. Also according to the modified dissection rules, segmentsare located on polygon edges according to the type of edge, such aswhether the edge is a line end, a turn end, or a longer edge. These edgetypes are deduced from the length of the edge compared to the dissectionparameters and whether one or both vertices of the edge are concave orconvex corners.

Specifically, according to some aspects of the invention, techniquescorrect for proximity effects associated with an edge in a layoutcorresponding to a design layer. An evaluation point is determined forthe edge based on a profile of amplitudes output from a proximityeffects model along a transect. The transect includes a target edge inthe design layer corresponding to the edge. It is then determined how tocorrect at least a portion of the edge for proximity effects based on ananalysis at the evaluation point.

According to a different embodiment, a computer system correctsproximity effects associated with an edge in a layout corresponding to adesign layout. A computer readable medium carries data representing theedge and at least a portion of the design layout. The design layoutcorresponds to a portion of an integrated circuit. One or moreprocessors are coupled to the computer readable medium. The processorsare configured to determine an evaluation point for the edge. Theevaluation point is based on a profile of amplitudes output from aproximity effects model along a transect. The transect includes a targetedge in the design layer corresponding to the edge. A correction isdetermined based on an analysis of an amplitude from the profile at theevaluation point. The correction is applied to at least a portion of theedge.

In another embodiment, a mask for fabricating a printed features layerincludes an opaque region having a segment corrected for proximityeffects. The segment corresponds to at least one portion of a targetedge in a design layer for the printed features layer. The segment isdisplaced from the corresponding portion in the design layer by acorrection distance. The correction distance is based on analysis of anamplitude output by a proximity effects model at an evaluation point onthe corresponding portion. The evaluation point is based on a profile ofamplitudes output from a proximity effects model along a transectincluding the target edge.

According to other aspects, techniques correct for proximity effectsassociated with an edge in a layout corresponding to a design layer.Dissection points are determined for the edge based on a profile ofamplitudes output from a proximity effects model along a transect. Thetransect includes a target edge in the design layer corresponding to theedge. An evaluation point is based on at least one of the profile andthe dissection points. It is then determined how to correct a segment ofthe edge corresponding to two dissection points based on an analysis atthe evaluation point.

According to other aspects, techniques correct for proximity effectsassociated with a first edge in a first layout corresponding to a designlayer for a printed features layer. A dissection length parameter isderived based on a profile of amplitudes output by a proximity effectsmodel along a transect. The transect includes a second edge in a secondlayout. An evaluation point is determined for the first edge based onthe dissection length parameter. Then it is determined how to correct atleast a portion of the first edge based on an analysis at the evaluationpoint.

According to a different embodiment, a computer system correctsproximity effects associated with a first edge in a first layoutcorresponding to a design layout. A computer readable medium carriesdata representing the edge and at least a portion of the design layout.The design layout corresponds to a portion of an integrated circuit. Oneor more processors are coupled to the computer readable medium. Theprocessors are configured to perform the following steps. A dissectionlength parameter is derived based on a profile of amplitudes output by aproximity effects model along a transect. The transect includes a secondedge in a second layout. An evaluation point is determined for the firstedge based on the dissection length parameter. A proximity effects modelis run for the evaluation point to produce a model amplitude at theevaluation point. A correction is determined based on an analysis of themodel amplitude at the evaluation point. The correction is applied to atleast a portion of the edge.

In another embodiment, a mask for fabricating a printed features layerincludes an opaque region having a segment corrected for proximityeffects. The segment corresponds to at least one portion of a targetedge in a design layer for the printed features layer. The segment isdisplaced from the corresponding portion in the design layer by acorrection distance. The correction distance is based on analysis of anamplitude output by a proximity effects model at an evaluation point onthe corresponding portion. The evaluation point is based on a dissectionlength parameter based on a profile of amplitudes output by a proximityeffects model along a transect including a second edge in a secondlayout.

According to other aspects of the invention, techniques correct forproximity effects associated with a first edge in a first layoutcorresponding to a design layer for a printed features layer. Adissection length parameter is derived based on a profile of amplitudesoutput by a proximity effects model along a transect. This transectcrosses a plurality of polygons in a second layout. An evaluation pointis determined for the first edge based on the dissection lengthparameter. Then it is determined how to correct at least a portion ofthe first edge based on an analysis at the evaluation point

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention is illustrated by way of example, and not by wayof limitation, in the figures of the accompanying drawings and in whichlike reference numerals refer to similar elements and in which:

FIG. 1A is a plan view of two items on a mask and the resulting printedfeatures showing proximity effects.

FIG. 1B is a plan view of elements on a modified mask after adjustingthe mask of FIG. 1A in an attempt to correct for proximity effects.

FIG. 2 is a flow chart showing the sequence of processes and layoutsutilized in the formation of devices having printed features layersaccording to one embodiment of the disclosed techniques.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart of a process for selecting dissection pointsaccording to one embodiment.

FIG. 4A is a plan view of elements on a mask used as input to anillustrative proximity effects model.

FIG. 4B is a plan view illustrating printed features with proximityeffects that might result from the mask items of FIG. 4A superposed onan ideal projection of the mask items.

FIG. 4C is a graph of contours of constant model amplitude output on atwo dimensional array resulting from the input of FIG. 4A for theexemplary proximity effects model.

FIG. 4D is a graph of a profile of model amplitude along a line shown inFIG. 4C for the exemplary proximity effects model.

FIG. 5A is a plan view of elements on a second mask layout used as inputto a second proximity effects model.

FIG. 5B is a graph of a profile of model amplitude along an edge of apolygon from FIG. 5A.

FIG. 5C is a graph of a first derivative of the profile of FIG. 6Bshowing dissection points according to one embodiment.

FIG. 5D is a graph of a second derivative of the profile of FIG. 6Bshowing dissection points according to another embodiment.

FIG. 6 shows an exemplary test pattern for a fabrication process, aprofile location, and the corresponding exemplary model output along theprofile.

FIG. 7 is a flow diagram for setting dissection parameters according toone embodiment.

FIGS. 8A-8E are partial plan views of polygons from mask layouts showingplacement of dissection points and evaluation points according to oneembodiment.

FIGS. 9A and 9B illustrate a flow diagram for selecting dissectionpoints using the dissection parameters according to one embodiment.

FIGS. 10A through 10C are partial plan views of overlapping polygonsfrom two mask layouts, showing the placement of dissection points andevaluation points when not all of a polygon is printed, according toseveral embodiments.

FIG. 11 is a flow diagram of a process employed when changing edges forselecting dissection points and evaluation points according to oneembodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Techniques are described for correcting fabrication layouts forproximity effects during the fabrication of printed features layers,such as in integrated circuits.

Functional Overview

FIG. 2 shows the processes and layouts produced according to the presenttechniques for designing and fabricating printed features layers 249 fordevices 250. The conventional processes are modified to include newtechniques for selecting evaluation and dissection points, asrepresented in FIG. 2 by process 260.

The conventional processes include the Functional EDA process 210 thatproduces the schematic diagram 215. The physical EDA process 220converts the schematic diagram to a design layout made up of one or moredesign layers 225 (e.g. design layers 225 a, 225 b, and 225 c). Aftermask layouts 235 (e.g. mask layouts 235 a, 235 b, and 235 c) areproduced, the conventional processes employ a fabrication process 240 toproduce the printed features layer 249. The printed features layer 249may be a layer in a printed circuit or the mask used to produce thelayer in the printed circuit. In the former case, the fabricationprocess includes one process 243 for forming the mask and a secondprocess 245 to produce the layer of the integrated circuit using themask. If the printed features layer 249 is the mask, step 245 isskipped.

According to techniques of the present invention, the fabrication designprocess 230 includes a new process 260 for obtaining dissection andevaluation points. In one embodiment, these new dissection andevaluation points are determined for a proposed mask layout 231 and usedwith a proximity effects model in step 232 to produce a model output233. The model output is related to the predicted location of edges inthe printed features layer if a printed features layer were fabricatedwith a mask having the proposed mask layout. Hence, in FIG. 2, the modeloutput is called the predicted printed features edge.

Each evaluation point is established for a segment of an edge from theproposed mask layout. The segment is defined by a pair of dissectionpoints associated with the evaluation point. Once the dissection pointsand evaluation points are selected, the proximity effects model is runat the evaluation points. In step 234, the predicted printed featuresedge 233 for the evaluation point is compared to a target position forthat edge in the design layer. Based on an analysis of the comparison, acorrection distance is computed. The correction distance is then appliedto the entire segment between dissection points associated with theevaluation point on the edge of the affected polygon. As each correctionis applied, the mask layout is adjusted in step 236. As a result of theadjustments in step 236 the polygons on the adjusted mask layout maydiffer from the polygons in the proposed mask layout, as well as fromthe polygons in the design layers 225. The final mask layouts 235 arethen based on the adjusted mask layouts produced by the adjustmentprocess 236.

Obtaining Dissection and Evaluation Points

An overview of one embodiment for the new dissection/evaluation pointsselection process 260 is illustrated in FIG. 3. According to thisembodiment, a few dissection parameters are established in response topredictions from a proximity effects model in step 310. In anotherembodiment, a human operator sets the dissection parameters. Those fewdissection parameters represent the necessity of dissection alongvarying portions of various types of edges. These parameters are used toselect all the dissection points and evaluation points on an edge of apolygon of a fabrication layout in step 330. In step 370, an evaluationpoint is placed on each segment defined by a pair of successivedissection points on the edge. The process then continues over all theedges needing dissection, on all the polygons in the layout.

For example, in step 390, it is determined whether the current edge isthe last edge on the current polygon. If not, process flow passes tostep 392 where the next edge requiring dissection on the polygon isselected and made the current edge. Flow then returns to step 330 inwhich the edge newly made current is dissected according to thedissection parameters. If the edge just processed by steps 330 and 370is the last edge of the current polygon, process flow passes to step 394in which it is determined whether the current polygon is the last oneneeding dissection in the fabrication layout. If not, the next polygonis made the current polygon in step 396, and control passes to step 392in which the first edge needing dissection on the polygon is made thecurrent edge. If the current polygon is the last on the layout then flowpasses to step 232 of FIG. 2, where the proximity effects model is runat the selected evaluation points.

In an alternative embodiment, step 394 includes making anotherfabrication layout the current fabrication layout and then passingcontrol to step 396. Such a subsequent layout may be necessary todissect; for example, when the two fabrication layouts are used todoubly expose the same printed features layer, so that edges from thesecond fabrication layer become part of the printed features layer. Thiscircumstance will be described in more detail later below.

Examples of Selecting Dissection/Evaluation Points & Setting DissectionParameters Using A Proximity Effects Model

According to one embodiment, the proximity effects model is used to setthe dissection parameters, for example, in step 310. These parametersremain constant during the dissection of several polygons in step 330,on one or more proposed fabrication layouts during the fabricationlayout design process, step 230.

Herein the term amplitude is used to describe the proximity effectsmodel output associated with a location no matter what model is used. Ingeneral, the models are built to accept input representing polygons ofopaque or transparent material. In general, an amplitude value is thenproduced for each location of interest. A threshold amplitude betweenthe minimum amplitude value and the maximum amplitude value can beassociated with the model. As used here, the threshold amplitude isassociated with the location where the edge of a feature is actuallyprinted. For example, where spatial deviation is output by the model, athreshold of zero marks the location of an edge. As another example,where the model output is simple optical intensity, a non-zero positivevalue associated with the printed edge serves as the threshold. In somemodels, the threshold value associated with an edge may itself be afunction of several variables such as the optical intensity andintensity gradient at a location.

To understand how dissection parameters can be derived from proximityeffects model output, consider FIGS. 4 and 5.

FIG. 4A shows two items 410 and 420 represented by polygons 411 and 421,respectively, in a mask layout provided as input to a proximity effectsmodel that has been developed for a particular suite of equipment andsettings. FIG. 4B shows the printed features 412 and 422, with shapes413 and 423, respectively, that would be produced from a mask formedfrom the mask layout of FIG. 4A according to the proximity effectsmodel. For reference, FIG. 4B also shows the polygons 411 and 421 ifthose were projected perfectly onto the printed features layer. Thedifferences between the ideal and actually printed features are due toproximity effects. For example, arrow 415 shows the deviation of printedfeature 413 from the design layout polygon 411 at one location on thepolygon 411. Similarly, arrow 425 shows the deviation of printed feature423 from the design layout polygon 421 at a location on that polygon421. These deviations are output by one kind of proximity effects model.

FIG. 4C illustrates contours 450 a-450 g of constant amplitude on a twodimensional array of model output for one kind of proximity effectsmodel, if it were to be run for every point on such an array. Oneparticular contour representing the threshold value, contour 450 c, isshown as a bold line. The shapes formed by the bold contour 450 crepresent this model's prediction of the shape of the printed featuresaccounting for all proximity effects in the system. As can be seen bythe bold contour 450 c in FIG. 4C, this proximity effects model predictsprinted features with shapes that agree with those that actually wouldbe produced on the printed features layer, as shown in FIG. 4B.

For simplicity of explanation, the proximity effects model that outputscontours like those shown in FIG. 4C is used as an exemplary proximityeffects model in the rest of this specification, unless otherwisestated. The techniques of the present invention, however, work with anyproximity effects model, including those models which have beencalibrated to produce amplitudes representing the predicted printedfeature

FIG. 4C also shows a double arrow 460 along which a profile of modelamplitude is plotted in FIG. 4D. In FIG. 4D, model amplitude isexpressed in arbitrary units on the vertical axis 484 from zero to amaximum represented by a value of 1.0. Distance along the double arrowof FIG. 4C from left to right is shown on the horizontal axis 482 ofFIG. 4D, in arbitrary distance units. Along this profile the modelamplitude begins at zero, rises steadily from about 3 distance units toabout 5 distance units, flattens out to about 7 units, then dips atabout 8 units, rises to a peak at about 9 distance units, and then fallsoff to zero again at about 13 distance units.

The threshold value 470 of about 0.3 model amplitude units correspondsto the value of contour 450 c. Where the model output 465 is above thethreshold value 470, a feature is predicted to be printed in the printedfeatures layer; where the model output 465 is below the threshold value470, no feature is predicted to be printed. Where the model output 465equals the threshold value is where the edge of the printed feature ispredicted to lie. Of course model output units are arbitrary and couldbe inversely related to what is printed, so that low amplitudesrepresent printed features and high amplitudes represent no printing. Insuch a case, the threshold would mark the value below which a feature isprinted.

The selection of dissection points and the derivation of dissectionparameters from a profile of model output is illustrated in FIGS. 5A,5B, 5C and 5D.

FIG. 5A is a plan view of elements on a second mask layout used as inputto another proximity effects model. The mask elements include twotransparent items, 510 and 520, represented by a first polygon withedges 511 through 516 and a second polygon with edges 521 through 524,respectively. On the polygon of item 510, points 532 and 533 indicatewhere proximity effects are expected to vary sharply because of thecorner point 538 between edges 514 and 515. Also shown are points 531,534, 535 and 536 on the polygon of item 510 where proximity effects areexpected due to the corner between edges 521 and 522 of the polygon ofitem 520. Points 531 through 536 are projection points, where proximityeffects on one edge are expected to vary sharply because of theproximity of vertices of other edges.

A profile of model amplitudes along one of these edges reflects the sizeof proximity effects on that edge for this particular layout and model(where the model represents this particular suite of fabricationequipment and settings). By using information in this profile ofamplitudes, a better dissection of this edge can be performed in whichthe segment length depends on the proximity effect magnitude.

FIG. 5B is a graph of a profile 540 of model amplitude along edge 511 ofthe polygon of item 510 shown in FIG. 5A, from its vertex in common withedge 516 to its vertex in common with edge 512. For purposes ofillustration, the threshold for this model is taken as 0.23. This modelthen predicts that this edge 511 will print from about 100 nanometers(nm) to about 1100 nm. Arrow 541 indicates the location of projectionpoint 531 and the value of amplitude at that projection point. Curve 543indicates where the amplitude curve 540 would be expected to lie ifthere were no variation in proximity effects on edge 511 due to item520. Arrow 542 indicates the location of projection point 532 and itsamplitude. Curve 544 indicates where the amplitude profile 540 would beexpected to lie if there were no variation in proximity effects on edge511 due to corner point 538. As expected, the proximity effectsrepresented by curve 540 vary in the vicinity of the projection points.

This profile 540 is used to illustrate how particular dissection pointsare selected on this edge, as well as how the dissection parameters usedfor dissecting other edges are derived from model output on this edge,according to this embodiment. In other embodiments, variations on thetechniques described here are used.

This profile 540 illustrates a length scale of proximity effects atcorners of a polygon. That corner length scale is found from a vertex ofthe edge to a position where the profile flattens near amplitude 0.3.That length scale is about 200 nm. In an alternative embodiment, thecorner length scale is selected to be the distance to the thresholdvalue of 0.23, which is about 150 nm. In still another embodiment, thecorner length scale is taken to be a distance to an amplitude that is agiven percentage of the threshold value. In this case, the givenpercentage is selected based on how aggressive a correction is sought inthe vicinity of corners. Where more aggressive correction is desired,the percentage is chosen to be less than 100%. Where less aggressivecorrection is desired, the percentage is chosen to be greater than 100%.In still other embodiments, the corner length scale is associated withtypes of corners, e.g., concave or convex, or angle at the corner, orboth. The corner length scale so derived provides a target length to usewhen dissecting corners where the edge allows.

This profile also suggests a length scale for details near projectionpoints. Considering both sides of each projection point, that detaillength scale should be about half the distance over which curve 540deviates from curves 543 and 544. That detail length scale is about 100nm. The detail length scale so derived provides a target length to usewhen dissecting details where the edge allows. This profile alsosuggests a maximum length scale where the curve 540 hardly varies atall, between the two projection points, of about 300 nm. The maximumlength scale so derived provides a target length to use when dissectingedges away from corners and details, where the edge allows.

Along other edges, the distances for the amplitude curve to flatten, thedistances over which projection points have noticeable effects, and thelength of the undisturbed sections are expected to vary. Thus,dissection parameters based on these must be derived from the observeddistributions of length scales. In a preferred embodiment, instead ofusing a single corner scale from one polygon of one test layout, astatistical corner scale, such as an average corner scale, or mediancorner scale, is used as a dissection parameter near corners. Thestatistical corner scale is derived from the corner segment lengths ofseveral polygons on the same test layout or on several layouts. In otherembodiments, different corner scales are derived for different cornertypes, e.g., concave or convex, or different ranges of angles or both.For example, corner segments associated with acute angles less than 45degrees can be averaged separately from corner segments associated withintermediate angles from 45 through 80 degrees which themselves areaveraged separately from corner segments associated with nearly rightangles from 80 to 100 degrees.

In another model where proximity effects are different, the values ofthe length scales and their distributions are also expected to bedifferent. For example, in an equipment suite with lower resolutionoptics and material processes, the length parameters are expected to belarger. That is, a distance from a vertex of an edge to a flatteningpoint is expected to be greater for all edges tested, and, therefore,the derived dissection parameter is expected to be larger.

In one embodiment, an evaluation point for a corner segment isdetermined on this curve. According to this embodiment, the evaluationpoint is placed where the curve has a value equal to a given percentageof the amplitude value where the curve first flattens. For example, ifthe given percentage is set at 75%, then because curve 540 flattens atabout 0.31 amplitude units, the evaluation point is selected where thecurve has a value of 75% of 0.31, i.e., a value of 0.23. This occurs ata distance of about 100 nm. In another embodiment, the evaluation pointis placed where the profile has a value equal to a given percentage ofthe threshold value, e.g., 90% of the threshold value of 0.23, which is0.21. This occurs at about 90 nm on curve 543.

The following paragraphs define particular embodiments for determiningdissection points and length scales for dissection parameters. Otherembodiments rely on variations of these techniques known in the art.

FIG. 5C is a graph of a curve 550 representing a first derivative of theprofile 540 of FIG. 5B. The first derivative is a measure of the slopeof the profile 540 at each point along the profile. Where the profile540 flattens the slope 550 approaches zero. A particular small value ofslope, say 0.001, is chosen to indicate where a profile is flat. Aprofile is flat where the absolute value of its first derivative is lessthan this particular value. Starting from a distance of 0 nm, the curve550 first becomes less than this particular value at about 200 nm.According to this embodiment, a corner segment is placed on this edgefrom 0 nm to 200 nm where the first derivative decreases to theparticular value. The corner segment is marked by dissection pointslocated at the vertex at 0 nm and at about 200 nm.

The 200 nm length of this corner segment is then submitted to a processto derive a corner dissection segment length parameter, Lcor. Thatprocess performs a weighted average of this corner length for this edgewith other corner lengths from this and other edges to derive the cornerdissection segment length, Lcor. In one embodiment, the weights are allthe same.

Similarly, moving along edge 511 from its vertex in common with edge512, at a distance of 1200 nm, the slope first increases above −0.001 atabout 1000 nm. That is, the absolute value of the first derivativedecreases below the particular value of 0.001 at about 1000 nm. Thisindicates a corner segment for this edge lies from distance 1000 nm to1200 nm, and dissection points are placed at both those locations. Asabove, the 200 nm corner segment length is submitted to the process toderive the corner dissection segment length dissection parameter, Lcor.

FIG. 5C also shows arrows 551 and 552, which indicate the locations ofprojection points 531 and 532, respectively. Though the absolute valueof slope at 551 may exceed the particular value of 0.001, this does notappear to be the case at 552. The slope near the projection point at 552appears to be affected by the opposite slope associated with the cornersegment. Along curve 550, the absolute value of the slope exceeds theparticular value of 0.001 also near points indicated by arrows 553 and554, at about 300 nm and 860 nm, respectively.

According to this embodiment, dissection points are added at eachlocation where the absolute value of slope reaches a local maximum abovethe small particular value. One embodiment adds dissection points at553, 551 and 554, which are located at about 300 nm, 480 nm and 860 nm,respectively. Thus, segments that extend from 200 to 300 nm, 300 to 480nm, and 860 to 1000 nm are added to the two corner segments alreadydefined for this particular edge 511. A residual edge that undergoesfurther dissection remains between points 551 and 554, from about 480 to860 nm. Evaluation points are then placed on this edge, one evaluationpoint on each segment. In this embodiment, each evaluation point isplaced midway between the dissection points on each non-corner segment.

The non-corner segment lengths obtained from these embodiments are sentto a process to derive other dissection parameters, such as a detaildissection segment length, Ldet, and a maximum dissection segmentlength, Lmax. In one embodiment of the process to derive dissectionparameters, a histogram of segment lengths is formed and the detaildissection segment length, Ldet, is derived from a mode of thedistribution associated with the smallest lengths. In this embodiment, amaximum dissection segment length is derived from a second modeassociated with the next smallest lengths. In other embodiments, lengthscales may be derived from such a distribution of lengths using anymethods known in the art. Then, dissection parameters are set based onthe derived length scales.

In another embodiment of selecting dissection points from model outputalong a particular edge, dissection points are also added between theselocal slope maxima, either at a midpoint, or where the slopes areinterpolated to closest approach zero. This embodiment will tend toproduce twice the number of segments and cause the dissection parametersderived from the resulting segments to have about half the size.Evaluation points are then placed at the midpoints of the resultingsegments.

In still another embodiment, dissection points are added at non-adjacentpoints where the slope curve 550 has a slope whose absolute value equalsthe particular minimum slope value, e.g., 0.001. This embodiment addstwo dissection points for each local maximum such as at 553 and 554, oneon either side of each local maximum.

In another embodiment, before adding dissection points, the secondderivative of the profile 540 is computed and examined. FIG. 5D is agraph of a curve 560 representing a second derivative of the profile 540of FIG. 59. The second derivative measures the curvature of a profile. Apositive value indicates that the profile is turning about a centerabove the profile, while a negative value indicates the profile isturning about a center below the profile. A zero indicates an inflectionpoint where the profile is not curved. Arrows 561 and 562 indicate thelocations of projection points 531 and 532, respectively.

Both projection points are located near points where curve 560 crosseszero. In this embodiment, dissection points are added wherever thesecond derivative is interpolated to cross zero. This method can be usedeven for corner segments if the crossing of zero closest to the corneris ignored. Using this method, one corner segment extends from 0 nm tothe point indicated by arrow 565, at about 220 nm, and a second cornerextends from the point at arrow 568, at about 990 nm to 1200 nm. Theselengths of 220 nm and 210 nm, respectively, are sent to a process toderive a corner dissection segment length, Lcor.

This technique also produces dissection points as indicated by arrows563 at about 320 nm, 561 (associated with projection point 531) at about480 nm, 566 at about 760 nm, and 564 at about 880 nm. These points yieldnon-corner segments of lengths 100 nm, 160 nm, 280 nm, 120 nm, and 110nm. These lengths are sent to the process for deriving non-cornerdissection parameters, and support a detail dissection segment lengthLdet of about 110 nm, and a maximum dissection segment length Lmax ofabout 300 nm.

According to one embodiment, an evaluation point is placed at the pointon each segment where the absolute value of the second derivative is amaximum. For example, evaluation points are placed at 100 nm, 300 nm,400 nm, 800 nm, 950 nm, and 900 nm, where the second derivative curve560 reaches local extreme values between locations where the curve 560crosses zero.

Using these example embodiments, a proximity effects model is run for avariety of locations along one or more edges of one or more polygons.The polygons can be selected from a proposed or final mask layout, orfrom a design layer of a design layout, or from a test mask used tobuild the proximity effects model. The profile of model output along theedge is used to select dissection points and evaluation points for thatparticular edge. The resulting segment lengths for the particular edgeare used with segment lengths obtained for other edges to derive targetlengths to use as dissection parameters.

This technique allows the proximity effects model to be run at a fewlocations, i.e., along certain edges, rather that at every point in alayout. Certain important edges are dissected directly, and theremaining edges are dissected using the dissection parameters. Theproximity effects model is then run for all other edges only at theevaluation points. Thus a large number of model runs are avoided and thecomputation proceeds at a desirable rate. At the same time, theevaluation points are reasonably selected to give the necessary detailon all the edges.

Deriving Dissection Parameters From a Test Mask

The profiles such as 540 can be generated by any method known in theart. In one embodiment, the test patterns used to build the model areused. These test patterns already include a range of features atdifferent scales and model output computed on a relatively dense outputgrid. Thus with substantially no additional computations than thosealready made to build the proximity effects model in the first place,model amplitudes along various polygon edges are already available forderiving dissection parameters.

In another embodiment, the corner length scale is derived from the modeloutput at a series of features of varying pitch. Pitch refers to thesmallest distance between repeated features in a layer. The use offeatures of varying pitch to derive a length scale appropriate for agiven model is shown in FIG. 6.

FIG. 6 shows an exemplary test pattern 692 of elongated polygons for asuite of fabrication equipment. FIG. 6 also shows a profile location695, and the corresponding exemplary model 690 amplitudes along theprofile. The pitch associated with portion 692 a of the test pattern 692is illustrated by the separation 691 a. Similarly, portions 692 b, 692 cand 692 d have associated pitches 691 b, 691 c and 691 d, respectively,of ever increasing size. The section 695 is perpendicular to theelongated polygons. The profile 690 on the section shows a portion 690 ain which model output never exceeds the threshold amplitude 470associated with a feature being printed. Thus this portion of the testpattern is too closely spaced to be printed with the equipment suitemodeled by the proximity effects model. Portion 690 b of profile 690does cross the threshold amplitude, barely. Other portions 690 c and 690d cross substantially above the threshold. In this example, theparticular pitch 691 b associated with profile portion 690 b, representa transition from unprintable to printable scales. Feature lengthssmaller than this particular scale are not likely to have differentprintable effects. Consequently, dissecting features into segmentssmaller than this scale will likely generate too many segments and toomany evaluation points. It is expected that corrections for suchsegments will not converge on a solution appropriate for the entirelayout. If profile portion 690 b had been entirely below the threshold,then a length scale representing the transition from unprintable toprintable scales is obtained by interpolating to a pitch at thethreshold amplitude on a plot of maximum amplitude versus pitch.

In one embodiment, the particular pitch length scale associated withmaximum model output at the threshold value is used to set a cornerdissection segment length. In another embodiment, this particular pitchlength scale is used to set a detail dissection segment length.

Method for Deriving Dissection Parameters

FIG. 7 is a flow diagram for setting dissection parameters according toone embodiment of the present invention. This is one embodiment of step310 a for setting dissection parameters based on a proximity effectsmodel output. In step 710, a profile of proximity effects modelamplitudes is generated along at least one edge of a polygon on a testlayout. In the preferred embodiment, the test pattern is one used togenerate the proximity effects model. In another embodiment, the polygoncan be selected on-the fly from a proposed fabrication layout for anactual printed features layer.

In step 730, a corner dissection segment length parameter, Lcor, is setto a distance scale representing the distance from a corner, i.e., avertex of the polygon defining the current edge, to a point on theprofile where the profile flattens. The profile is flat, for example,where successive points undergo less than a certain change in amplitudeor absolute value of the slope is less than a particular minimum value.In other embodiments, Lcor is set to a distance scale representing thedistance from the corner to a particular percentage of the flat portion,or a particular portion of the threshold, or where the second derivativecrosses zero. In some embodiments, a set of Lcor parameters are defined,one for each corner type or angle range or both, and set to appropriatedistance scales.

In step 750, dissection points are selected away from the corners,defining non-corner segments, based on changes in model output, such asbased on the first derivative or second derivative of the modelamplitude profile. This step can also be used to define a halo distance,i.e., a separation between features beyond which no dissection pointsare necessary on an edge. With a halo distance so defined, if somevertex of another edge is within the halo distance of a non-cornersegment of the edge whose profile is being examined, a dissection pointshould be necessary.

In step 770, the detail dissection segment length parameter, Ldet, isbased on the segment lengths of the non-corner segments. For example,the detail dissection segment length is set equal to a mode in thedistribution of non-corner segment lengths associated with the shortestsegment lengths. For a second example, the detail dissection segmentlength is set to a particular percentile of non-corner segment lengths,such as the 5^(th) percentile length or 10^(th) percentile length.

In step 790, the maximum dissection segment length parameter, Lmax, isbased on the segment lengths of the non-corner segments that aresubstantially longer than the detail dissection segment length. Forexample, the maximum dissection segment length is set equal to a secondmode in the distribution of non-corner segment lengths, a mode notassociated with the shortest segment lengths. For a second example, thedetail dissection segment length is set to a particular percentile ofnon-corner segment lengths, such as the 25^(th) percentile length, the50^(th) percentile length (the median segment length), or the 75^(th)percentile length.

When the halo and dissection lengths are defined, then control passes tostep 330 to use these parameters to dissect polygons in an actualfabrication layout.

Modified Selection of Dissection and Evaluation Points

In one embodiment, dissection points are based on the vertices of thepolygon and five prescribed dissection parameters. The five prescribeddissection parameters include:

corner segment dissection length (Lcor);

detail segment dissection length (Ldet);

maximum segment dissection length (Lmax);

true-gate extension length (Lext); and

halo distance (halo).

The vertices and dissection parameters are first used to determine anedge type. Edges shorter than the shortest prescribed segment length arenot worth evaluating and so have no dissection points or evaluationpoints selected. Edges long compared to twice the corner segment lengthhave a dissection point placed about Lcor from each vertex. A projectionpoint is located on an edge at the closest point to a vertex of anotheredge, if that vertex is within the halo distance. Long portions of edgesaway from the corners and without projection points, i.e., residualedges, may be dissected to prevent segments longer than Lmax. Next tocorner segments and near projection points, segments should be aboutLdet long. Edges of true-gates have lengths increased by the true-gateextension length, Lext, to prevent underexposure of these importantfeatures.

In other embodiments, multiple versions of these parameters are defined.For example several Lcor parameters are defined to distinguished convexfrom concave corners and to distinguish square corners from acute andmiddle angle corners. As another example, several Lext parameters aredefined to distinguish extensions toward an end cap from extensionstoward a connector, explained below.

One use of prescribed dissection parameters Lcor and Ldet is illustratedin FIG. 8A. FIG. 8A is a plan view of a vertex 811 a of a polygon wheretwo edges long compared to Lcor and Ldet meet. The vertex 811 a isselected as a dissection point 830 a. On the horizontal edge, the nextselected dissection point 830 b is a distance Lcor 820 from the vertex811 a. Dissection points 830 a and 830 b define a corner segment. Thefirst segment next to the corner segment has a length Ldet 822, whichcauses the dissection point 830 c to be selected. Similarly, on thevertical edge, the first dissection point 830 a is the vertex 811 a, andthe next selected dissection point 830 d is a distance Lcor 820 from thevertex 811 a, while the next dissection point 830 e is a distance Ldetfrom there.

There is one evaluation point 840 between each pair of dissection pointson an edge. Away from the corner segments, the evaluation points areplaced substantially halfway between the dissection points. For example,evaluation point 840 b is halfway between its associated dissectionpoints 830 b and 830 c. This is done because the evaluation pointrepresents the whole segment between the dissection points; and anycorrection computed for the evaluation point, such as moving the edge xdistance units outward, will be applied to the whole segment. Treatingthe whole segment together is reasonable because the corrections neededare expected to vary slowly along a single segment. That is how thesegment length parameters were chosen—to represent a distance associatedwith each substantial change in proximity effects.

In the corner segments of this embodiment, however, the evaluationpoints are not halfway. Instead, in this embodiment, the evaluationpoint is placed two-thirds (⅔) of the way from the convex vertex to thenext dissection point. In other embodiments, the evaluation point isplaced substantially more than halfway from the vertex to the nextdissection point. The placement of evaluation points farther from thevertex is reasonable because the proximity effects in the corner tend toincrease more rapidly as the corner is approached. Halfway from thecorner the changes are still large compared to the inside dissectionpoint which abuts the next segment. A smaller correction is desired thanat the halfway point to avoid big differences with the abutting interiorsegment.

FIG. 8A illustrates the use of two of the prescribed dissectionparameters. In addition to the segments with lengths substantially equalto the prescribed parameters, this embodiment includes some segmentswhich have lengths which depend on the prescribed parameters but varyfrom them by an amount determined by the actual length of an edgebetween successive vertices of the polygon. The derived lengths include

Effective line-end segment length (dmin);

Effective turn-end corner segment length (dcor); and

Effective interior, flat segment length (dmax).

Line-end segments occur on polygon edges that are no shorter than theshortest prescribed segment length but not long enough to generate morethan one segment. Line-ends are likely underexposed or overexposed alongtheir entire length. Such edges are not dissected further but do have anevaluation point. Thus on such edges, the dissection points are thevertices and the evaluation point is placed midway between. The segmentand the edge are coincident. Though controlled by the prescribeddissection parameters, the actual segment lengths, dmin, are derivedfrom the vertex positions. FIG. 8B illustrates a line-end edge ofpolygon 810 b. Dissection points 830 f and 830 g are placed at verticesand evaluation point 840 e is placed midway between them. The segmenthas a length dmin 824 derived from the distance between the vertices.Because dmin is greater than the lesser of prescribed parameters Ldetand Lcor, but shorter than (Ldet+2*Lcor), this edge is treated as aline-end and is given segment length dmin substantially equal to itsedge length, L. Not shown is a line end comprising two concave vertices.It is treated the same way as the depicted line end with two convexvertices. An edge characterized as a line-end is never dissected intotwo segments.

Turn-end edges are also longer than the shortest prescribed length butinvolve one concave vertex and one convex vertex, such as shown in FIG.8C. Thus a turn-end often involves an underexposed corner 811 d and anoverexposed corner 811 e. In addition, a turn-end involves two cornersso close together that there is not enough distance for a segment oflength Ldet between them. That is, edge length L 826 is less than(Ldet+2*Lcor). Such an edge is unlikely to have a properly exposedsegment. Depending on the actual length of a turn-end edge, L 826, itgets either a single evaluation point at its midpoint with both verticesbeing dissection points, or it is split evenly by three dissectionpoints 830 h, 830 i and 830 k into two segments of length dcor 827, asshown in FIG. 8C. Though its segment length is controlled by theprescribed dissection parameters Lcor and Ldet, its actual segmentlength, dcor 827, is derived from the positions of the vertices andtheir edge length L 826. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 8C, theevaluation points 840 f and 840 g are placed in the middle of bothsegments. In another embodiment, at least one segment is considered acorner segment with an evaluation point more than halfway from a cornerto the middle dissection point 830 i.

Corner, line-end and turn-end dissection lengths are used in thosecircumstances even if projection points are also present. Projectionpoints control segment lengths in the interior portions of an edge awayfrom the vertices, as will be described later below. Away from cornersegments (including all of short edges like line-ends and turn-ends) andprojection points, residual portions of an edge are divided evenly sothat no segment is greater than Lmax and no segment is shorter than theshorter of Lcor and Ldet. Though controlled by the prescribed dissectionparameters Lcor, Ldet and Lmax, the actual length of these segments(dmax)(see dmax 829, for example, in FIG. 8D) is derived from theoriginal vertex positions.

Dissection due to a projection point is illustrated in FIG. 8E. In thisembodiment, the halo distance 855 is used to determine whether anyvertex from another edge is within range to induce a sharp change inproximity effect on the current edge. For example, vertex 811 f ofpolygon 810 f is within halo distance 855 of the current edge of polygon810 e being dissected. A projection point is defined, as the closestpoint on the edge from a vertex of another edge within the halo distance855. In the preferred embodiment, the halo is defined based on analyzingmodel amplitudes along an edge on a test pattern as described above. Themodel radius is the greatest distance at which the model can display aneffect, e.g., the length scale of the longest kernel function used inthe model. The halo distance is found in this embodiment, by firstselecting a particular variation in proximity effect consideredsignificant. Then the halo distance is set substantially equal to thegreatest separation between an edge and a vertex of another edge thatexhibits the particular variation or more in the test patterns. Inanother embodiment, a distribution of observed variations is generated,and the particular significant variation is determined from a certainpercentile of these variations, e.g., the 10^(th) percentile. The halodistance can also be defined manually. In this embodiment, the halodistance is preferably defined to be less than or equal to the modelradius, e.g., by a pre-defined percentage less than 100% to multiply bythe model radius

In FIG. 8E, a line 853, parallel to the current edge of the polygon 810e and spaced the halo distance 855 apart, marks the area in which avertex of another edge can cause a projection point. Since vertex 811 fof another edge is within the halo distance, a projection point 850 isfound.

In the preferred embodiment, dissection in the vicinity of theprojection point is carried out by placing a dissection point 830 q atthe projection point 850 and at two other points [840 r] 830 r and [840s] 830 s spaced Ldet 822 from the projection point 850. Evaluationpoints 840 m and 840 n are then placed at the midpoint of the segmentsso defined. In another embodiment, an evaluation point is placed at theprojection point, and two dissection points spaced Ldet from each otherstraddle the evaluation point. Such an embodiment is not preferredbecause it does not allow for different corrections on either side ofthe projection point as needed for most circumstances, for example, asneeded for curve 540 in FIG. 5B. In yet another embodiment, the segmentcentered on the projection point of this previous embodiment isaugmented with two additional segments of length Ldet, one each oneither side of the first segment. While such an arrangement allows fordifferent corrections near to and on either side of the projectionpoint, it requires three evaluations rather than the two evaluations ofthe preferred embodiment.

Where more than one projection point are initially found on an edgewithin a distance of Ldet along the edge, only one projection point iskept and used for dissection. Any technique that provides a singleprojection point from the multiple initial projection points can beused. According to this embodiment, the projection point kept is the onehaving the shortest distance to the vertex of another edge. After thisone is selected, all other projection points on the edge within Ldet ofthe kept projection point are discarded.

FIGS. 9A and 9B illustrate one embodiment for step 330 of FIG. 3,dissecting an edge using the dissection parameters, which combines allthe above considerations.

In step 910 of FIG. 9A the edge length L is determined from the verticesof the current edge. In step 912 it is determined whether the edgelength is less than the minimum dissection length, e.g., the lesser ofthe corner dissection segment length Lcor and the detail dissectionsegment length Ldet. If so, the edge is too short to merit an evaluationpoint and the edge is discarded, i.e., not dissected and not given anevaluation point. Control then passes to step 390 of FIG. 3 to obtainthe next edge for dissection, if any.

In step 914 it is determined whether the edge length L, which isnecessarily greater than or equal to the minimum dissection length, isalso less than double the minimum dissection length. If so, then theedge is a line-end or turn end that is treated as a single segment.Dissection points are selected at the vertices in step 915. Control thencontrol passes to step 370 to select an evaluation point, e.g., in themiddle of the edge.

In step 916, the edge length L is necessarily greater than double theminimum dissection length, and it is determined whether the edge is longenough to accommodate two corner segments of length Lcor and anintervening segment of length Ldet. If not, the edge is treated as aline end or as a turn-end. In step 918 it is determined whether the edgeis a turn end, i.e., includes both a convex corner and a concave vertex.If not, the edge is a line end and dissection points are placed at thetwo vertices in step 915 and control passes to step 370 to place theevaluation point. If one vertex is a convex vertex and the other is aconcave vertex, so that the edge is a turn-end, it is determined in step920 whether the edge length L is less than double Ldet. If not, then theedge is split evenly into two segments with dissection points at bothvertices and at the midpoint of the edge in step 919. If the edge lengthL is less than double Ldet, then the edge is kept as one segment withdissection points at the vertices in step 915. In either case, controlthen passes to step 370 to select evaluation points.

If it is determined in step 916 that the edge length is long enough, twocorner segments are placed on the edge, by selecting both vertices ofthe polygon as dissection points as well as selecting the two pointsspaced away from the two vertices by the distance Lcor in step 922. Aresidual edge length is computed by subtracting double the cornerdissection segment length, i.e., subtracting 2*Lcor, from the edgelength L.

In step 930, one or more projection points are selected on the residualedge, for example, as shown in FIG. 8E. If more than one projectionpoint is found, only projection points spaced at least Ldet from anotherprojection point are kept.

In step 940 of FIG. 9B, every pair of dissection points not involving acorner segment, such as dissection points related to a projection pointor segment adjacent to a corner segment, is examined and a residuallength LR of a further residual edge is computed as the distance betweenthe currently examined pair of points. When no more such pairs of pointsare left on the edge, flow control eventually passes to step 370 toselect evaluation points.

In step 942 it is determined whether the residual length LR is less thantwice Ldet. If so, the segment is not further dissected in step 943, andcontrol passes to step 950 to examine the next such pair of dissectionpoints, unless it is determined in step 951 that the current pair is thelast pair and control passes to step 370 in FIG. 3. Otherwise controlpasses to step 944.

In step 944 the residual length LR is necessarily greater than or equalto double Ldet, and it is determined whether the residual length LR isalso less than triple Ldet. If not, the segment is split evenly into twosegments by adding a dissection point in the midpoint of the segment instep 945. If so, control passes to step 946.

In step 946 the residual length is necessarily greater than or equal totriple Ldet, and two dissection points are added, each Ldet from one ofthe current pair of dissection points being examined. Then a newresidual edge length is computed for the remaining segment between thetwo new dissection points. Control then passes to step 948.

In step 948, the new residual edge length is divided by Lmax, and theceiling integer N of the quotient is obtained. The effective length ofthe remaining segments, dmax, is computed as the residual length dividedby the ceiling integer N. By dividing the residual length by the ceilinginteger, dmax is guaranteed to be less than or equal to Lmax. Then N−1evenly spaced dissection points, spaced apart by dmax, are selected inthe remaining segment. Control then passes to step 951 to obtain thenext such pair of dissection points in 950 unless the current pair isthe last pair and control passes to step 370 in FIG. 3.

In one embodiment dissection points and evaluation points are alsochosen to be at grid points of a predefined input grid. This additionalchoice provides the advantage that previously computed model runs can beused for analyzing differences after the edges get dissected.

Specifically Segmenting Certain Edges

In yet another embodiment, the proximity effects model is run forclosely spaced points along certain critical edges on a proposed layoutor layouts, as described above with respect to FIG. 5. Based on therates of change of model amplitude along the edge, such as the first andsecond derivative, the edge is divided into segments. For example, asegment is formed for every change in model amplitude along the edgeabove a predetermined minimum change. For another example, a segment isdefined between every inflection point where the second derivativecrosses zero. These segments are not derived from the dissectionparameters, but are directly observed on the certain edges. Dissectionpoints are then placed at the segment endpoints and an evaluation pointis placed between each pair of dissection points.

This embodiment offers the advantage of customizing the dissection forcertain important edges and responding to the actual variations inproximity effects observed along the particular edge.

However, this embodiment requires more computational resources thanusing dissection parameters because the model is run at many new pointsalong an edge in the fabrication layout for the actual design. Thisembodiment does not use the pre-computed model values created when themodel was built.

Some computation time and power is saved compared to running evaluationsat all points on these edges, because a correction is only computed atthe more widely spaced evaluation points, one per segment. Oncecomputed, the same correction is then applied to the whole segment.Additional computational time and power can be saved by performing theprocess only on certain edges expected to suffer from proximity effects,like those on critical features in the layout with dimensions close tothe resolution of the fabrication process, or where critical dimensionsare within a halo distance of another polygon. For example, this processis used only on edges that include an edge of a true-gate or an edge ofa true-gate interconnect.

Including Edges From Double Exposures

Some features on a printed layer are formed by exposing the same layerwith masks formed according to two fabrication layouts. For example, ina first exposure, narrow phase-shifted features are formed, then, in asecond exposure, wider connections between phase-shifted features areformed. Polygons in the first exposure include pairs of phase-shiftwindows called shifters, which pass light of the same wavelength but outof phase by 180 degrees (or π radians).

FIG. 10A illustrates two rectangular shifters 1010 a and 1010 b thatform a true-gate 1001 along a portion of the area between the shifters1010. For example, shifter 1010 a is bounded by four edges connectingvertices 1031, 1036, 1037 and 1038. Also shown is a polygon 1020 used ina second exposure to connect the true-gate 1001 to other features, notshown, with connecting features 1009 a and 1009 b. Edges connectingvertices 1040, 1043, 1045, 1046, 1047 and 1048 are on polygon 1020. Thepolygon 1020 includes wide trim sections 1024 (i.e. 1024 a and 1024 b)entirely within the shifters 1010 (i.e. 1010 a and 1010 b) where thereis no material on the layer being exposed the second time. The purposeof the trim sections 1024 is to prevent overexposing the edge of thetrue-gate 1001 during the second exposure. The edges of the trimsections 1024 inside the shifters 1010 do not leave edges on the printedfeatures layer. For example, no edges are printed corresponding to maskedges connecting vertices 1043 to 1045, 1045 to 1046, and 1046 to 1047.Also, the edges of the shifters outside the trim polygon are notprinted. For example, the edge connecting vertex 1038 to vertex 1037 isnot printed.

Some edges have portions that are printed and portions that are notprinted. For example, no edge is printed between points 1043 and 1042 ofthe polygon 1020 edge connecting points 1043 to 1040. Similarly, no edgeis printed between points 1038 and 1042 of shifter 101 a edge connectingpoint 1038 to point 1031. Such partially printed edges usually involve apoint that marks the intersection of a shifter edge with a trim edge,like point 1042.

FIG. 10A also illustrates that some portions of some edges are moreimportant than other portions of the same edge, even though both areprinted. For example, on shifter edge connecting point 1031 to 1036, theportion making up an edge of the true-gate 1001, between points 1032 and1035, is more important than other portions of that edge, that simplyprovide an extension for the connecting features 1009 a and 1009 b.

According to these embodiments, dissection points and evaluation pointsare not placed on edges that are not printed, such as outside edgespolygons for shifters or edges of trim polygons inside shifters. Forexample, when dissecting the polygon of shifter 1010 a, the edgeconnecting vertices 1031 and 1036 contains portions that will beprinted, therefore this edge is dissected. However, the edge connectingvertices 1037 to 1038 will not be printed; and therefore it is notdissected.

Also according to these embodiments, dissection points and evaluationpoints are moved or removed to ensure that segments do not have lengthsless than a minimum segment length, and that the evaluation points areon the physically important parts of the segments. According to oneembodiment, dissection points are initially placed at the corners of thetrue-gate, i.e., at points 1032 and 1035 in addition to shifter vertexes1031 and 1036. The edge of the true-gate is then dissected as if 1032and 1035 were vertices of a polygon. For example, normally a dissectionpoint is placed at point 1032 and another dissection point is placed adistance Lcor away at 1033, and the evaluation point 1034 is placedtwo-thirds of the way from point 1032 to point 1033.

However, if the length of the resulting segment from vertex 1031 totrue-gate corner 1032 is less than the minimum segment length, e.g., thelesser of Lcor and Ldet, a dissection point is not placed at true-gatecorner 1032. Instead, the dissection point at 1031 is used. Theevaluation point 1034 for the segment remains on the true-gate edgetwo-thirds of the way between points 1032 and 1033. That is, theevaluation point is located as if the corner of the true-gate 1032 werea corner dissection point. Because the segment from vertex 1031 to point1032 is used to connect the corner of the shifter to the true-gate, itis referred to as the shifter extension, and the shifter extensionlength is the distance from shifter vertex 1031 to true gate vertex1032.

This technique has the advantage of simultaneously keeping all segmentlengths greater than or equal to the minimum segment length, butensuring that the evaluation points are on the true-gate, the criticalfeature in the layout. This is an advantage because it is desired thatthe correction determined at the evaluation point be applicable to thetrue-gate, which is the important feature. The dissection of an entireedge, like shifter polygon edge from vertex 1031 to 1036, consideringthe influence of true gate corners is implemented during an alternativeembodiment of step 330 of FIG. 3.

Where a portion of an edge is not printed, dissection points areselected to avoid segments shorter than the minimum dissection segmentlength and evaluation points are placed on the portion being printed.According to one embodiment, dissection points are initially placed atthe intersection of shifter and trim edges in addition to trim edgevertexes. For example, a dissection point is initially placed atintersection point 1042 and at point 1041, a distance Lcor away. Theevaluation point is then placed two-thirds of the way from point 1042 topoint 1041, as if the intersection point 1042 were a vertex. However, ifthe non-printed portion of the edge, from point 1043 to 1042, is shorterthan the lesser of Lcor and Ldet, the segment from 1041 to 1042 isextended to point 1043. That is, the segment is extended to the trim1024 a by the trim extension distance from 1042 to 1043. The evaluationpoint remains unchanged, at two-thirds the distance from theintersection point 1042 to the dissection point 1041. The remaining edgeof the polygon 1020 is then dissected according to the rules statedabove for non-corner segments.

This technique has the advantage of simultaneously keeping all segmentlengths greater than or equal to the minimum segment length, butensuring that the evaluation points are on the printed portion of theedge. This is an advantage because it is desired that the correctiondetermined at the evaluation point be applicable to the printed edge.

Other arrangements yield other results. For example, FIG. 10B shows anarrangement that has one edge of true-gate 1002 formed by a portion ofone edge of polygon 1021, between vertices 1054 f (of trim section 1025a) and 1054 g (of trim section 1025 b). The true gate corners on thisedge are at points 1055 a and 1055 b. Both of these true-gate cornersare also intersections of the shifters 1011 with this edge of thepolygon 1021. Whether this edge is further dissected depends on thedistance between these corners. If the distance from 1055 a to 1055 b isless than the minimum segment length, e.g., the lesser of Lcor and Ldet,then this edge of the polygon 1021, between vertices 1054 f and 1054 g,is not dissected; and no evaluation point is placed on this edge.

If the distance between true-gate corners 1055 a and 1055 b is greaterthan or equal to the minimum segment length, then the dissection of thisedge of polygon 1021 connecting vertices 1054 f to 1054 g proceeds asfollows. Normally true-gate corners 1055 a and 1055 b are dissectionpoints and the evaluation point 1056 is midway between the two, as ifthe true-gate corners 1055 a and 1055 b were polygon vertices on aline-end. However, if both edge portions from true-gate corner to edgevertex, i.e. edge portion from vertex 1054 f to true-gate corner 1055 aand edge portion from true-gate corner 1055 b to vertex 1054 g, havelengths shorter than the minimum segment length, then the dissectionpoints are moved to the vertices. The evaluation point 1056 remainsunchanged, midway between the corners of the true-gate. If only one ofthese edge portions from true-gate corner to vertex is less than theminimum, the dissection point is moved to the vertex for the short edgeportion. For example, if only the edge portion from vertex 1054 f totrue-gate corner 1055 a has a length less than the minimum dissectionlength, then the dissection point is moved from 1055 a to 1054 f, whiletrue-gate corner 1055 b remains a dissection point. The evaluation pointis moved so that it is placed two-thirds of the way from true-gatecorner 1055 a to 1055 b.

These techniques illustrated with respect to FIG. 10B offer theadvantages of producing no segments that are too short, and producingevaluation points at locations of physical significance even on edges ofa polygon that are only partially printed.

Other edges of polygon 1021, such as those connecting vertices 1054 b to1054 c, 1054 c to 1054 d, 1054 d to 1054 e, and 1054 e to 1054 f areinside shifter 1011 a and are not printed. Also edges of shiftersoutside the trim, such as edges connecting vertices 1053 c to 1053 d,1053 d to 1053 e, 1053 e to 1053 f, and 1053 f to 1053 a are notprinted. Therefore these edges of polygon 1021 and shifter 1011 are notdissected. Still other edges, such as that edge of polygon 1021connecting vertex 1054 a to 1054 b, are partially printed and arehandled as described above with respect to FIG. 10A. The edge connectingvertices 1053 a and 1053 b of shifter 1011 a form corners of thetrue-gate 1002 as described above with respect to FIG. 10A.

In order to print a true-gate area more aggressively, to ensure it willnot be underexposed, a true-gate is often artificially extended. Theamount that a true-gate is extended during design of a fabricationlayout, such as a mask layout, can be specified by a designer with atrue-gate extension length parameter Lext. In some instances, thedesigner may specify several true-gate extension length parameters fordifferent circumstances. For example, a designer may specify a firsttrue-gate extension for use where a true-gate is connected to anotherelement and a second true-gate extension for use where a true-gate iscapped by an end-cap.

The actual true-gate extension depends both on the parameters Lext andthe actual feature geometries. For example, with respect to FIG. 10A, ifthe distance from true-gate corner 1032 to shifter vertex 1031 is lessthan Lext, then the true-gate 1001 is extended to the shifter vertex1031. If, on the other hand, the distance from true-gate corner 1035 toshifter vertex 1036 is greater than Lext, then the true-gate is extendedonly to point 1039, a distance equal to Lext from the original true-gatecorner 1036. According to this example, the true gate 1001 originallylying from point 1032 to point 1035 has been extended on both ends tolie from point 1031 to point 1039.

According to this embodiment, the dissection points are selected to beconsistent with the true-gate extension scheme employed in thefabrication layout. For example, the dissection of an edge with a truegate described above is begun after the true-gate is extended to havecorners at points 1031 and 1039.

FIG. 10C shows shifters 1012 shared across two true-gates 1003 that arenot connected to each other. For each true-gate, a polygon 1022 providesa connector 1009 to other elements, not shown, trim regions 1026, and anend cap 1090. For example, polygon 1022 a provides connector 1009 d,trim regions 1026 a and 1026 b, and end cap 1090 a, whereas polygon 1022b provides connector 1009 f, trim regions 1026 c and 1026 d, and end cap1090 b.

If Lext parameters have not been defined, then dissection proceeds asfollows. Normally, dissection points are placed at the corners of thetrue-gate. For example, dissections points are placed at 1065 a and 1065b for true-gate 1003 a, and at 1065 c and 1065 d for true-gate 1003 b.In addition, dissection points are placed a distance Lcor from thecorner points of the true-gates. For example, a dissection point isplaced at 1063 b, a distance Lcor from true-gate corner 1065 b, fortrue-gate 1003 a. Similarly, a dissection point is placed at 1063 f, adistance Lcor from true-gate corner 1065 c, for true-gate 1003 b. Theevaluation point is placed two-thirds of the way along the resultingsegment from the true-gate corner. For example, evaluation point 1066 ais placed two-thirds of the way from true-gate corner 1065 b todissection point 1063 b. Similarly, evaluation point 1066 b is placedtwo-thirds of the way from true-gate corner 1065 c to dissection point1063 f. No evaluation point is placed on the edge portion between thetwo true-gates, from point 1065 b to point 1065 c, because that edge isnot printed and does not require correction.

However, if the distance between the true gates is less than the minimumsegment length, e.g., the lesser of Lcor and Ldet, then the dissectionpoints are moved to the middle point of the gap. For example, if thedistance from true-gate corners 1065 b of true-gate 1003 a to true-gatecorner 1065 c of true-gate 1003 b is less than the minimum of Lcor andLdet, then the dissection points at 1065 b and 1065 c are both moved topoint 1063 d. The evaluation points are not moved. They remain as if thecorners of the true-gate were vertices of the polygon.

If a Lext parameter has been defined, then dissection proceeds asfollows. True-gate 1003 a is extended to point 1063 c, a distance Lextfor end caps from the original true-gate corner at 1065 b. Similarly,true-gate 1003 b is extended to point 1063 e, a distance Lext for endcaps from the original true-gate corner at 1065 c. No evaluation pointis placed on the edge portion between the two true-gates, from point1063 c to point 1063 e, because that edge is not printed and does notrequire correction. Similarly the other corners of the true-gates, 1065a and 1065 d are moved outward a distance Lext for connectors to points1067 a and 1067 b, respectively. In some embodiments, Lext for end capsis equal to Lext for connectors; in other embodiments they havedifferent values. The evaluation points are placed two-thirds of the wayfrom the extended corners 1063 c and 1063 e, respectively, to thedissection points 1063 b and 1063 f, respectively, each dissection pointspaced a distance Lcor from the extended corners.

However, if the distance between the extended true-gates, from point1063 c to point 1063 e, is less than the minimum dissection length, thenthe dissection points are not placed at 1063 c and 1063 e, but are bothmoved to the center point 1063 d. The evaluation points are not moved.

The techniques described with respect to FIG. 10C have the advantage ofdefining segments each greater than the minimum segment length for allsegments including edges of important features like true-gates. If theentire shared shifter edge is printed, these techniques are implementedduring an alternative embodiment of step 330 of FIG. 3.

Functional Overview of Dissecting Doubly Exposed Edges

FIG. 11 illustrates a method for finishing one edge and selectinganother edge of a polygon that takes into account whether the edge or aportion of the edge is printed or not. These steps are included in analternate embodiment 392 a of step 392 shown in FIG. 3.

In step 1110 it is determined whether all of an edge is important forthe edge on which dissection points and evaluation points were mostrecently selected. If all of the edge just completed is important, thencontrol passes to step 1120 where the next edge on the polygon is madethe current edge. If some of the edge is less important, such as becausesome of the edge is not a true-gate or some is not printed, then flowpasses to step 1115 in which additional dissection points areconsidered, such as at intersections of polygon edges with shifteredges, and at corners of true gates. Evaluation points are only definedon important portions of segments. After these steps are performed, thenflow passes to step 1120 to make the next edge the current edge.

In step 1125 it is determined whether any of the next edge is printed.If not, flow does not return to step 330 (of FIG. 3) to selectdissection points. Instead, flow passes to step 390 of FIG. 3 todetermine whether this is the last edge on the current polygon.

If at least some of the edge is printed, flow goes eventually to step330 to select those dissection points on the next edge.

Computing Correcting for Evaluation Points

Once the dissection points and associated evaluation points areselected, the model is run for the actual layout only for the evaluationpoints, as shown by process 232 in FIG. 2. The resulting proximityeffects model amplitude is used to compute a correction distance duringprocess 234 of FIG. 2. The correction distance is then applied to theentire segment between dissection points, moving the segment out or inand creating a new polygon for an adjusted mask layout, as shown byprocess 236 in FIG. 2.

Iterative Use of Proximity Effects Model

Once the segments have been moved by the correction distance for all theaffected polygons, the adjusted fabrication layout (produced by process236 in FIG. 2) is completed. This is used as the final fabricationlayout 235 in one embodiment. The corrections can be combined with theoriginal polygons to create new flat files of polygons. In the preferredembodiment, a correction is stored as an hierarchical subunit in thehierarchical representation of the original polygon in the initialfabrication layout.

In another embodiment, the adjusted fabrication layout is tested againwith the proximity effects model to determine whether the agreementbetween the printed features layer (249 in FIG. 2) and the design layout(225 in FIG. 2) satisfy a pre-defined specification tolerance. If so,the corrections end. Otherwise, another round of corrections isperformed based on the current correction to further improve theagreement. This process iterates until the agreement converges on thespecified tolerance for all edges, or it is determined that furtherimprovement is not possible. In this embodiment, the recently adjustedfabrication layout produced during process 236 becomes the next proposedfabrication layout (231) and the processes 260 through 236 are repeated.For example, dissection points and evaluation points are selected forthe new proposed layout, printed features are predicted with the model,and the differences are analyzed.

In one embodiment, only the new edges of the polygon generated by movingcertain segments by the corresponding correction distances aredissected. In this embodiment, the halo used to find projection pointsis also reduced for the next round of evaluations, so that fewercorrections are attempted each round, and the solution can converge.This is accomplished, for example, as shown in FIG. 11. FIG. 11 showsstep 1130, which determines whether the next edge to be processed is anew edge introduced since the last proximity effects model run. An edgewill only be new if it includes a segment that was moved as a result ofa correction. In step 1130, if the edge is not new, i.e., a segment wasnot moved, then the edge is skipped. Only new edges have dissectionpoints and evaluation points selected in step 330 of FIG. 3.

Hardware Overview

FIG. 12 is a block diagram that illustrates a computer system 1200 uponwhich an embodiment of the invention is implemented. Computer system1200 includes a bus 1202 or other communication mechanism forcommunicating information, and a processor 1204 coupled with bus 1202for processing information. Computer system 1200 also includes a mainmemory 1206, such as a random access memory (RAM) or other dynamicstorage device, coupled to bus 1202 for storing information andinstructions to be executed by processor 1204. Main memory 1206 also maybe used for storing temporary variables or other intermediateinformation during execution of instructions to be executed by processor1204. Computer system 1200 further includes a read only memory (ROM)1208 or other static storage device coupled to bus 1202 for storingstatic information and instructions for processor 1204. A storage device1210, such as a magnetic disk or optical disk, is provided and coupledto bus 1202 for storing information and instructions.

Computer system 1200 may be coupled via bus 1202 to a display 1212, suchas a cathode ray tube (CRT), for displaying information to a computeruser. An input device 1214, including alphanumeric and other keys, iscoupled to bus 1202 for communicating information and command selectionsto processor 1204. Another type of user input device is cursor control1216, such as a mouse, a trackball, or cursor direction keys forcommunicating direction information and command selections to processor1204 and for controlling cursor movement on display 1212. This inputdevice typically has two degrees of freedom in two axes, a first axis(e.g., x) and a second axis (e.g., y), that allows the device to specifypositions in a plane.

The invention is related to the use of computer system 1200 forproducing design layouts and fabrication layouts. According to oneembodiment of the invention, dissection points and evaluation points forfabrication layouts are provided by computer system 1200 in response toprocessor 1204 executing, e.g., as threads, one or more sequences of oneor more instructions contained in main memory 1206. For example, theevaluation point determining process runs as a thread 1252 on processor1204 based on evaluation point determining process instructions 1251stored in main memory 1206. Such instructions may be read into mainmemory 1206 from another computer-readable medium, such as storagedevice 1210. Execution of the sequences of instructions contained inmain memory 1206 causes processor 1204 to perform the process stepsdescribed herein. In alternative embodiments, hard-wired circuitry maybe used in place of or in combination with software instructions toimplement the invention. Thus, embodiments of the invention are notlimited to any specific combination of hardware circuitry and software.

The term “computer-readable medium” as used herein refers to any mediumthat participates in providing instructions to processor 1204 forexecution. Such a medium may take many forms, including but not limitedto, non-volatile media, volatile media, and transmission media.Non-volatile media includes, for example, optical or magnetic disks,such as storage device 1210. Volatile media includes dynamic memory,such as main memory 1206. Transmission media includes coaxial cables,copper wire and fiber optics, including the wires that comprise bus1202. Transmission media can also take the form of acoustic or lightwaves, such as those generated during radio-wave and infra-red datacommunications.

Common forms of computer-readable media include, for example, a floppydisk, a flexible disk, hard disk, magnetic tape, or any other magneticmedium, a CD-ROM, any other optical medium, punchcards, papertape, anyother physical medium with patterns of holes, a RAM, a PROM, and EPROM,a FLASH-EPROM, any other memory chip or cartridge, a carrier wave asdescribed hereinafter, or any other medium from which a computer canread.

Various forms of computer readable media may be involved in carrying oneor more sequences of one or more instructions to processor 1204 forexecution. For example, the instructions may initially be carried on amagnetic disk of a remote computer. The remote computer can load theinstructions into its dynamic memory and send the instructions over atelephone line using a modem. A modem local to computer system 1200 canreceive the data on the telephone line and use an infra-red transmitterto convert the data to an infra-red signal. An infra-red detector canreceive the data carried in the infra-red signal and appropriatecircuitry can place the data on bus 1202. Bus 1202 carries the data tomain memory 1206, from which processor 1204 retrieves and executes theinstructions. The instructions received by main memory 1206 mayoptionally be stored on storage device 1210 either before or afterexecution by processor 1204.

Computer system 1200 also includes a communication interface 1218coupled to bus 1202. Communication interface 1218 provides a two-waydata communication coupling to a network link 1220 that is connected toa local network 1222. For example, communication interface 1218 may bean integrated services digital network (ISDN) card or a modem to providea data communication connection to a corresponding type of telephoneline. As another example, communication interface 1218 may be a localarea network (LAN) card to provide a data communication connection to acompatible LAN. Wireless links may also be implemented. In any suchimplementation, communication interface 1218 sends and receiveselectrical, electromagnetic or optical signals that carry digital datastreams representing various types of information.

Network link 1220 typically provides data communication through one ormore networks to other data devices. For example, network link 1220 mayprovide a connection through local network 1222 to a host computer 1224.Local network 1222 uses electrical, electromagnetic or optical signalsthat carry digital data streams. The signals through the variousnetworks and the signals on network link 1220 and through communicationinterface 1218, which carry the digital data to and from computer system1200, are exemplary forms of carrier waves transporting the information.

Computer system 1200 can send messages and receive data, includingprogram code, through the network(s), network link 1220 andcommunication interface 1218.

The received code may be executed by processor 1204 as it is received,and/or stored in storage device 1210, or other non-volatile storage forlater execution. In this manner, computer system 1200 may obtainapplication code in the form of a carrier wave.

In the foregoing specification, the invention has been described withreference to specific embodiments thereof. It will, however, be evidentthat various modifications and changes may be made thereto withoutdeparting from the broader spirit and scope of the invention. Thespecification and drawings are, accordingly, to be regarded in anillustrative rather than a restrictive sense.

What is claimed is:
 1. A mask for fabricating a printed features layer,the mask including pattern-defining region having a plurality ofsegments corrected for proximity effects, each segment corresponding toat least one portion of a target edge in a design layer for the printedfeatures layer, wherein: each segment is displaced from thecorresponding portion in the design layer by a correction distance; thecorrection distance is based on analysis of an amplitude output by aproximity effects model at an evaluation point on the correspondingportion; and the evaluation point is based on a profile of amplitudes,thereby improving dissection of the target edge into the plurality ofsegments by providing more segments where proximity effects are moresignificant and providing fewer segments where proximity effects areless significant.
 2. The mask of claim 1, wherein the profile ofamplitudes is output from a proximity effects model along a first edgecollinear with the target edge.
 3. The mask of claim 1, wherein theprofile of amplitudes is output by a proximity effects model along anedge collinear with a second edge in a second layout.
 4. The mask ofclaim 1, wherein the profile of amplitudes is output by a proximityeffects model along a transect crossing a plurality of polygons in asecond layout.